


7kpp Week 2017!

by quilleth



Category: Seven Kingdoms: The Princess Problem (Visual Novel)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, i promise there is only one major canon character death in part 6, sad attempts at blatant innuendo, there is no inbetween for these they are either fluff or sad angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-14
Updated: 2017-03-14
Packaged: 2018-10-04 16:16:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10282928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quilleth/pseuds/quilleth
Summary: My fills for the prompts for 7kpp week 2017, which was hosted again by the lovely 7kpp blog on tumblr!  All of my submissions this year were fic pieces, since I didn't have a lot of time or motivation to draw, but I really enjoyed pushing myself to write so much and attempt to follow the prompts (even if I willfully misinterpreted some of them xD)





	1. Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I decided to explore Elisabeth's relationship with her late older bro for this prompt (and gave myself feels). It was a lot of fun, and the bossy nerd siblings kind of took over and Noah turned out entirely different form what I was planning!

"Remind me why we’re doing this again, Noah?“

"One, because I need help studying this, and two, because I want my clever, charming, lovely baby sister to come to the Summit with me someday. And you’re doing it because you owe me a favor after that incident with the goats,” he replied, gesturing with a ragged looking quill.

Elisabeth smiled at her older brother as they sat in the small family library, studying a book of patents of nobility from Arland. “You know Mother and Father will never let me go. I cause too much trouble and offend people, remember.”

Noah made a serious face. "You know they are just upset about that disaster of a dance you had with our new brother in law’s cousin.“

"Yes, well….if he had been more polite and not so offended about having to dance with me, I may have tried not to step on his feet quite so often,” she replied with a sniff.

Her brother burst into laughter. "You were doing that on purpose?! Oh Lissy, no wonder Kate and Mother are so upset with you!“

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Whose side are you on, brother dearest? And besides,” she looked a little sheepish, “I am no good at dancing. You know that I’m not particularly graceful when music and a partner aren’t involved. Why on earth would I be any more graceful with someone else to worry about?”

"Well, then we shall just have to tackle that next then,“ he said, putting an arm around her shoulders. "My sweet baby sister, tripping over things since infancy…all grown up and using her clumsiness as a weapon…I’m so proud!” He sighed dramatically and pretended to wipe away a tear.

"Oh stop that! You’re being ridiculous,“ Elisabeth giggled.

"Was he really that rude to you? You should have said something.”

"Well, I thought he was. If he wasn’t going to say anything civil, he shouldn’t have said anything at all. Besides, his hands were clammy and he stood far too close. What else could he have expected with such behavior?“

With a wry smile, Noah said, “I imagine he’d heard how charming you are and was expecting sweet amiability…could have told him otherwise.”

"Keep that up and I’ll stop helping you!“ Elisabeth snapped, nudging him in the ribs with her elbow.

"Alright, alright. You know I could care less about that prat…aside from finding the whole thing incredibly entertaining. If you do all this studying with me and try to hold your tongue sometimes, you might change Mother and Father’s minds.”

Elisabeth sighed, “I doubt it.”

"Well I’m not taking the tests unless you take them with me! And since they are insistent that I should take them, they’ll have to compromise!“

"But you’ll be old enough to take them in a few months, and I won’t be for a couple of years. How would that work?”

"Yes, but if we study together now, when you turn eighteen in three years–“

"Less than three! I’ll be sixteen in two weeks!”

"Fine. When you turn eighteen in two years and fifty weeks, I’ll still only be twenty. So we can work towards taking the tests together then!“

Elisabeth wasn’t quite sure her brother was calculating all the time necessary for preparations, especially since the next Summit, the one she knew her parents wanted her brother to try to attend would take place not long after she turned eighteen, but she decided not to question him.

"Oh come on, Lissy! It’ll be an adventure!” Noah said, mistaking her skeptical look for reluctance. "Are you not the one always going on about wanting to go on an adventure? This could be our chance!“ 

"I suppose you’re right. Two years might be enough time to change their minds!” Her brother’s enthusiasm was infectious and despite feeling morose and ill tempered of late, Elisabeth found herself grinning back at him.

"There’s the smile that charms everyone so much!“

Elisabeth rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright focus!” Looking down at the sheaf of parchment in her hands she asked, “What is the name of the marchioness who is cousin to the queen of Arland on her mother’s side?”

"Which one?“

"There’s more than one?! Oh drat I didn’t see that!” The two passed the rest of the afternoon in amicable sibling bickering and teasing while poring over the genealogies of the royal families.

***

“Ah jeeze! You weren’t joking when you said you were terrible at dancing!” Noah exclaimed, grimacing and shaking his foot.

Elisabeth pouted at him. “This was your idea! And do stop being so dramatic. I didn’t step on you that hard!”

"Oof no wonder lord what’s his name was so put out!“

"Noah! I’m not doing it on purpose!”

"I know, I know, but oof. I’m not sure how to teach you this right. I’m not that good myself, and Mother never did hire a new dance instructor.“

Elisabeth sniffed. "I will just never dance then. Ever!”

"Don’t say that. You’ll have to at least dance with your adoring older brother!“

"Why? So you can dramatically exclaim over your poor injured toes?”

"No, so I can show you off to everyone we meet at the Summit 'See here, my good sir, this lovely young lady is my sister. Isn’t she charming? See how her eyes sparkle with cleverness!’“ Noah grinned at her as he pretended to be having a conversation with someone else, holding Elisabeth’s hand out as though to offer it to someone.

"I’m not sure why you would do that, when clearly I’d have to spend the entire time fighting you for someone’s affections!” Elisabeth giggled.

"Oh come now. You know if you liked someone I’d leave them be!“ He replied, placing a hand to his chest as though offended.

"No you wouldn’t! You’d truss them up and stick them outside my door with a pretty purple ribbon attached to their collar! Subtlety is not your strong point.”

He pouted at her playfully. "And here I thought purple was your favorite color. You should have told me it wasn’t so I didn’t get your birthday gift wrong! Ah well,“ he sighed.

Elisabeth bounced on the balls of her feet. "It is my favorite color. And did you say birthday present?”

"I did indeed, but you don’t get it until Father and I get back from our trip.“

"You are a hardhearted brother, and I hope your hair turns green!” she replied, sticking her tongue out.

"Oh now that’s harsh! Maybe you won’t get it at all then!“ he replied, crossing his arms and trying to frown at her, but his lips quirked up at the corners, completely ruining the effect.

"I take it back, I take it back!” Elisabeth said. "Besides, how could I really wish something so awful on my most favorite, intelligent, likable, handsome oldest brother?“ she added, smiling sweetly and clasping her hands in front her.

Noah laughed. "Nope, that won’t work this time, Lissy; I’ve known you too long to fall for your sticky little compliments. Besides, I’m the only older brother you have.”

"Oh alright, you win. Will you be gone long?“

Noah sighed, "Unfortunately we’ll probably be gone for close to a month, so we’ll miss your birthday next week. But you already know I’m bringing you back something to make up for it!” he replied.

Elisabeth pouted. "I’m going to miss you! You’ve never been gone for any of my birthdays. It’ll be so strange and quiet…“

Noah pulled her into a hug. "Cheer up Lissy. We’ll be back before you know it! And then we’ll have to tackle mastering this dance!”

"Must we?“

"Yes, now come on I think it’s about time for dinner!”

***

The day was warm and sunny, with hardly a cloud in the sky, and Elisabeth was sitting under an apple tree in the orchard, reading when a shadow fell over her book, distracting her. “Noah!” she cried, seeing her brother standing under the tree near her. She sprang up and gave him a hug.

"Hello, Lissy!“ He said, hugging her back with a tired smile.

Elisabeth looked at him in concern. "Are you alright? You don’t look very well.”

"Now is that any way to greet your brother who has been gone on a long arduous journey to learn about estate management?“ Seeing her put her hands on hips prepared to argue, he added, "I’m just a little tired, that’s all. It really was a long trip.”

They sat back on the grass and Elisabeth asked, “Did you get to do anything interesting at all, or was it just a bunch of boring management and record keeping stuff? Oh and what did it all look like? And were the people nice? And-”

Noah began laughing. "One thing at a time! First, yes it was mostly boring stuff, but I did go shopping at a very interesting outdoor market with goods from Corval.“

"Ooh, really?”

"Yes, and I seem to remember having said something about a birthday gift a long, long time ago. Now who could that have been for I wonder?“ Noah winked at Elisabeth who beamed at him. "Happy birthday, Lissy. Sorry it’s late.” He handed Elisabeth a narrow box tied with a purple colored ribbon.

"Don’t be silly. You know I don’t need presents!“ she replied, sliding the bow off the box. She opened the box to reveal a pair of carved hair sticks made of a purplish colored wood. "Ooh!” she squealed. "They’re so pretty, and I needed new hair sticks. My other pair broke. Thank you!“ She flung her arms around her brother again, before pulling away and winding her hair up around the new hair sticks.

"You’re welcome! I’m glad you like them. That wood is not easy to find. It’s called purpleheart, so you see, I simply had to get them for you,” he replied.

"Purpleheart, hmm?“ Elisabeth said pensively. "Do they dye it to make it that color?”

Noah grinned, “No, supposedly it turns that color after it’s been cut.”

"Really? Wow!“ Elisabeth smiled. "Thank you again!”

"You’re welcome!“ Noah sighed heavily, adding, "Mother and Father actually wanted to talk to us though, so I suppose we ought to go back to the house.” He got to his feet, swaying slightly.

"Noah!“ Elisabeth scrambled to her feet and grabbed his elbow. "You’re not well! You should sit down!”

He shook his head, “No, no, I’m fine. I told you, just tired. Let’s go. I’ll let you fuss when we’re out of this heat.”

"But–!“

"Lissy, please.”

"Oh, alright. But you’re going to go straight to bed when we get back inside! And drink some water!“ She linked her arm through his, and took his hand. "Your hands are awfully warm.”

"Yes, oh bossy one. Lead the way,“ he replied, waving his free arm out towards the grounds.

Glancing at him nervously, Elisabeth began walking back towards home, the book she had been reading completely forgotten under the tree. They had nearly made it back to the house when Noah stopped walking

"Lissy…Maybe you’re right. I’m not… I don’t…I’m not feeling well,” he said quietly, as he stumbled, pulling her down with him.

"I told you! I knew it! Oh Noah, you, you idiot!“ Elisabeth felt his forehead with her arm. "You’re far too warm! You ought to have been in bed. How long have you felt like this, be honest!”

"Just a day or two…maybe,“ he murmured. "I’m just going to lay down here for now.”

"Oh no you’re not! You need to get to bed and see a physician!“

He groaned as she pulled him back to his feet, standing for a moment before plopping back down. "Let me rest a minute. Go and ask someone for help if you’re so worried.” He curled up on the grass.

"I am not leaving you out here alone when you’re so sick!“ Elisabeth turned toward the yard, torn. She could run back to the house and rouse enough attention in just a few minutes, but clearly her brother was far too ill to be left alone. Cringing slightly, she yelled for the stablehands, the closest people, and at least one of whom was quite likely to respond quickly to her calls for help.

***

"Well, I did it,” Elisabeth said with a sigh. “I’m going to the Summit after all, can you believe it? Ok so I’m only being sent because our cousin Jiya went and eloped, so it’s not exactly how we planned. And it's seven years later than we were trying for. But still, I’m going.” She laid a small bundle of pink carnations on the headstone, keeping her hand pressed to the cool stone for a moment. "I never did get any better at dancing, or holding my tongue,“ she said as she sat down next to it. "I wish you were going with me. You were always so much better at this kind of thing, with people and dancing and probably too many forks at the place settings.” She sat silently for a while with her arms around her knees, staring out over the grassy hill.

"Lissy! Elisabeth!! Your carriage is leaving soon!“ her mother called, waving somewhat frantically from a few yards away.

Elisabeth climbed to her feet and laid a hand on the headstone again, sniffling slightly, as she said, "I’ll try to make you proud of me, Noah.” She turned and walked off through grasses, feeling the call of adventure for the first time in nearly ten years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to clear it up from the version I have posted on tumblr, but in case it's not clear, Elisabeth is 25 when she attends the Summit. Noah dies when she's 16, so she's actually attending the Summit after the one they were initially preparing for.  
> And the pink carnations she leaves symbolize remembrance of the dead (If there are flowers in a fic with Elisabeth, it's a safe bet they're there for a reason and I've spent way too much time looking up flower meanings ;)).


	2. Sacrifice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which I begin willfully misinterpreting prompts and put my limited knowledge of the rules of chess to use for the benefits of sappy fluff!

“I do believe it’s your turn, prince pirate,” Elisabeth said. She rested an elbow on the little table and propped her chin on her hand, grinning like a cat across the board.

"You look entirely too pleased with yourself, Glitter! I’m not sure I should indulge you in this. You might never let me live it down!“ he replied smiling back at her good naturedly before examining the game board.

Elisabeth pouted, leaning back in her chair, "But you are the one who suggested we play!”

"True, though I did think I’d do better than I have.“

"You bested me in the ship race, now it’s my turn,” Elisabeth said with a shrug. 

Hamin grinned at her and moved one of his pieces. “We’ll see, love. I haven’t given up yet!”

"Are you _sure_ you want to make that move?“ Elisabeth asked sweetly.

"Yep,” Hamin winked back at her.

Elisabeth snatched up a piece of her own. “Your funeral,” she said, placing the piece two squares diagonally to the left.

Hamin gave her a measured look. "You most definitely are up to something if you’re going to sacrifice your bishop that easily….. What _are_ you planning dear Elisabeth?“

Elisabeth felt her cheeks warm under his warm scrutiny and uncommon use of her given name. She was rather less unsettled with his constant (and sometimes downright ridiculous) pet names than being called her full name. "Oh you’ll see,” she demurred, for a lack of anything better to say. _Dratted pirate!_ She had a _plan_ for this game and she wasn’t going to let him or his charm or his mischievous smile throw her off. _Focus!_ she scolded herself.

"Very well, you leave me no choice,“ Hamin declared, taking out her bishop with his remaining knight.

"Hah, perfect!” Elisabeth said, still trying to shake off her distraction. _Chess now, flirting later! Maybe!_ She moved her pawn forward one space to the opposite edge of the board. "Queen me, please!“ she said triumphantly, her head tilted in an unconscious gesture of coquettishness rather than her usual flustered confusion.

Hamin grinned back at her, eyes twinkling with mischief. "As you wish,” he said before leaning across the board and kissing her. His grin widened when he sat back in his seat, seeing Elisabeth flushed bright red.

"That’s not what I meant!“ she squeaked.

"Oh, I know,” he replied, replacing the pawn with Elisabeth’s queen he had captured earlier in the game.

"But….then…why did you…?“ Elisabeth looked so adorably confused and flustered that he kissed her again. "Wha…” she sighed, rather bemused and not entirely sure she cared.

Hamin tucked a stray lock of hair back into Elisabeth’s bun. “You simply looked so charming and delighted; it made me think about doing things like this after we leave here and still getting to see that smile,” he said, fixing her with a more serious look.

"Oh!“ she whispered. That was…that was incredibly sweet that’s what, and she wasn’t prepared for that, approved match or no. "Um, check?” she said pointing at the board without looking away from her dashing pirate. She barely noticed Hamin move his king out of check and moved her newly acquired queen at random in response, instead of the tactical way she had intended. _It’s not fair! He’s able to disarm me so easily, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to do the same! Still… maybe with time, now that I know with reasonable certainty that we’ll have it I could._ She smiled to herself, glad she’d blurted out his name at the Matchmaker’s interview and not choosing to remain unattached out of nobility. Maybe some good did come from a little bit of selfishness after all.

"I believe that’s checkmate.“

"What?!” Elisabeth snapped out of her thoughts abruptly. "That’s not….you can’t have!“

"Looks like I win again, Glitter,” Hamin said with a devious grin.

Elisabeth made a frustrated noise and glared at him. “You cheated!”

"How so, precious?“

"You…you…You used underhanded diversionary tactics!” Elisabeth crossed her arms over her chest, stewing.

Hamin burst into laughter. "Is that what we’re calling it now?“ He leaned back in his chair and moved the little table they’d been playing on to the side. "Are you really mad at me?”

Elisabeth looked up at him. "Of course not,“ she sighed. She stood and began packing away the chess pieces, then looked at him over her shoulder. "I’ll just have to get you back when you are least expecting it,” she added with a smirk, a determined glint in her eyes as she waved the piece in her hands in a jokingly threatening way.

"Ooh, consider me warned,“ Hamin said, reaching out to grab her hand, unceremoniously tossing the chess piece to the table (where it slid several inches, careened into the remaining pieces and narrowly missed falling to the floor). He gently tugged Elisabeth toward him. Being that Elisabeth was both unprepared for this and herself, she, of course, stumbled. Hamin gallantly assisted her by pulling her onto his lap.

"Hamin!” Elisabeth scolded, wriggling halfheartedly in an attempt to regain her footing, before ruining any sense of propriety she might have been trying to portray by wrapping her arms around his neck. “You are incorrigible,” she said, kissing him on the cheek.

"And what does that make you then, my dear Glitter?“ he replied before kissing the tip of her nose.

She scrunched her nose up with a giggle. "Utterly besotted,” she sighed happily.

"Oh, really?“ he asked, wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her closer before kissing her again.

"Mmhmmm, completely,” Elisabeth murmured leaning into him in a scandalously inappropriate way and kissing him back. She felt his lips curl up into a smile against her own and knew that she too was smiling, even as he pulled back slightly to murmur, “Me too,” before resuming kissing her soundly.


	3. Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one kind of stumped me for a bit, and I’m not real pleased with it. But look! I wrote about one of my MC’s other than Elisabeth for once (the world is ending oh nooo)!!
> 
> Toby is my Hise MC, lover of bright colors and making trouble. Not really thrilled to be going to the Summit. In her opinion, she’s been out and about in the world and hasn’t really been impressed and doesn’t think it’s likely the Summit will be any different.

oby leaned against the railing of the ship and stared out at the horizon, much more serious and contemplative than she’d been in…well, ever really. This was certainly not where she thought her life would take her. Not that she’d really had a thought of what she did think would happen or what she wanted to happen. Why put energy into things that haven’t happened and might never happen? Much better to live in the here and now and not bother thinking about all that future and planning or dreaming nonsense. All she wanted was freedom, her ship, and the open seas. And to have fun of course!

But her father had gotten so worried since her mother died, and she wanted him to be happy. So she entered the contests and won a spot, and now here she was, a delegate for the Summit. _It might be enough of a distraction for the time being_ , she decided. She didn’t much care for marriage being the end goal though. She’d never really cared about relationships before, and maybe that was a little strange to some, but their opinions didn’t bother her. She’d rather play pranks on people than woo them, or because she was a lady would they be expecting to do the wooing? She snorted at that thought. Romance wasn’t anywhere near her list of priorities, but if there was wooing to be done, she’d be the one doing it or she was a stuffed eel.

They hadn’t even let her take her own ship (ok her mother’s ship, but close enough). She looked around moodily at the crew and the other delegates she was travelling with, and an idea dawned on her. _This wasn’t her ship._ This wasn’t her crew. People didn’t know her particularly well. It was the perfect equation for some mischief. She pushed herself away from the railing with a broad grin and set off across the deck to find some small adventure.


	4. Present

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which I continue willfully misinterpreting the prompts!   
> I'm so used to games like Dragon Age where you can give all of your companions some kind of gift, so I'm always super bummed when we can't get gifts for Jasper, Ria, and Sayra during week 3. So even though this would be both highly implausible and probably not at all allowed, I decided to fix that xD

Elisabeth was finding that it was rather difficult to hide things from people who knew one well, and rather more so when those same people were just as acquainted with the layout of one’s quarters. Still, she was nothing if not determined, and she would find a way to surprise Ria, Sayra, and Jasper the way they’d surprised her (she’d nearly cried. Really they were all too sweet to her; she was downright spoiled and she knew it). Of course, she couldn’t get them much in way of thank you gifts; her purse wasn’t that full, but she’d manage. Her main challenge, she knew, was finding a way to hide them until she could figure out a way to give them their gifts, especially with her admittedly not very impressive stealthiness.

Ria’s was the easiest to figure out and, if not the most difficult to hide, certainly the most dangerous. She nearly toppled off the chair she was standing on when Jasper came in while she was hiding it on top of her wardrobe. That had led to an hour long lecture about proper deportment for a lady, which she sat meekly through, positive that Jasper had at least been somewhat startled by her rather graceless flailing to keep her balance. She’d been most grateful when he didn’t mention her amateur attempts at acrobatics to Ria and Sayra; her dignity could only take so much abuse after all.

Her dignity’s brief reprieve only lasted a couple of days before it was put to the test again. Ria had come into the room with a basket of fresh linens to find Elisabeth sprawled on her bed, with one arm thrown dramatically over her eyes and her feet propped up on the headboard, her stockings and pantelettes on view to anyone who might have walked in.

"Oh! Lady Elisabeth! I’m sorry to disturb you, you aren’t usually here around now,“ she said flustered.

Elisabeth moved her arm away from her face and grinned at her. "Don’t be silly Ria, I was just thinking. Let me help you with those,” she said rolling to the side to get up. He foot connected with the corner of her night table and she let out a howl of pain and several choice words no lady ought to know, landing in a heap on the floor, clutching her foot.

"Oh no! Lady Elisabeth are you alright?!“ Ria cried, setting down her basket and scurrying over.

Elisabeth waved her away. "Fine. I’m fine,” she bit out, eyes watering. _Stupid table!_ That’d teach her to indulge in habits she’d developed at home where there were no dainty little tables right next to her bed.

Her door swung abruptly open and both she and Ria jumped. "What’s happened?“ Jasper demanded, standing in the doorway.

Elisabeth blinked away some of her tears and looked at him for a few seconds, startled. "I hit my foot. On my night stand when I was getting up,” she said, tilting her head in confusion. Obviously it had been inappropriate for her to swear, and she probably should not have screeched quite so loudly, but neither of those things ought to have made Jasper so….angry? He was so hard to read sometimes.

Jasper looked at Elisabeth sitting in the midst of a jumbled mess of skirts and petticoat, still clutching her foot, then to her night stand, and back. He opened his mouth to ask a question, then shut it, shaking his head slightly. With a slight smile he asked, “Would you like me to fetch a physician or some ice, or will you be alright?”

Elisabeth frowned at him, resisting the urge to stick her tongue out at him. "No, thank you. I shall be perfectly fine. It just hurt rather an awful lot,“ she answered, climbing back onto her bed and settling down to flex her foot.

"I gather as much from the noise,” Jasper said, laughing slightly when Elisabeth did stick her tongue out at him this time. "I came to see if you needed anything, since I had a bit of time from my other tasks, but I see that Ria is here.“

"That was thoughtful of you, but I don’t need anything.”

"Very well. Have a good afternoon, Lady Elisabeth,“ Jasper replied, shaking his head again as he left the room.

"Are you sure you’re alright, Lady Elisabeth?” Ria asked. "I can fetch something for you if you need as soon as I’m done putting these things away, if you’d like!“

"Oh no, please don’t worry Ria. It’s my own fault for being so clumsy, and really, I don’t need anything. Well, actually, can I ask you something Ria?”

Ria looked surprised. "Of course! Whatever you need.“

"Sayra likes onvu, doesn’t she?”

"Yes, she’s quite good at it. Or I think she is anyway. Why do you ask?“ Ria stacked clean towels neatly in a drawer of the wardrobe while she spoke.

"Just curious,” Elisabeth answered, with a satisfied nod. "Do let me help you with those Ria.“ She added getting up and wandering over with a slight limp. "It will go much faster that way!” The two chattered away for a while before Ria left to do some other part of her duties, and Elisabeth went to cross another thing off her mental checklist, humming to herself.

She was working at her desk later that evening when light knocking on her door interrupted her. "Hello Jasper,“ she said with a smile as he entered the room. 

"Good evening, Lady Elisabeth. Is everything well?”

"Yes, perfectly, thank you. You know you needn’t check on me so often, Jasper. I can manage myself well in my room at least. I believe generally when people have a break from their duties they use that time to rest.“ Elisabeth raised an eyebrow.

"I am sure that you are quite capable, Lady Elisabeth, but you also know that one of my duties is to you while you’re at the Summit,” Jasper replied with a frown.

"Yes, but you’re still human and therefore need to _rest_ when given the opportunities.“

"How is your foot?” Jasper asked, giving her a pointed look of his own.

She frowned at him. "Fine, I’ll stop pestering you. For now.“

"If that’s all and you don’t need anything then…?”

"I don’t, thank you.“

"Very well. Good night Lady Elisabeth.”

"Good night Jasper,“ Elisabeth replied, a plan forming in her mind. She smiled to herself, pulling out blank sheets of parchment and setting to work.

It took a couple of days to get everything organized, what with figuring out where four different people’s schedules intersected and how to place objects so that they were somewhat hidden, but not so hidden they weren’t seen. Elisabeth was actually rather proud of herself for figuring it all out without taking extensive notes. So once she’d laid everything out- a small package each for Ria and Sayra, placed next to an empty laundry basket (since she hadn’t seen Sayra much lately, and she knew she could trust Ria to deliver it), and another package for Jasper, somewhat less carefully placed at the edge of her desk, the face of the attached note facing away from the door in case anyone else were to glance at it.- she left her room to find more clues, humming contently to herself.

Later in the morning Ria found the gifts for her a Sayra, and slipped them into a capacious pocket of her apron with a feeling of excitement. On opening hers, she found a note that read: _Dear Ria, Thank you for always being so sweet and cheerful, even when it is very early in the morning and my hair is a horrible mess. You’ve been a good friend, and I’m happy to have met you. -Elisabeth (PS Sweets for the sweet seems a very silly thing to say, but I know that you are fond of them!)_ attached to a small box of little pastries.

When Sayra returned to her room later in the afternoon (and had an excited Ria in her room chattering away about a parcel), she found a note that read: _Dear Sayra, Thank you for tolerating me at my grumpiest and for your good advice and calm presence. I would say I look forward to receiving more lectures from Jasper with you, but as I don’t think either of us would wish for that again, that would be a lie. But I am glad to consider you a friend. -Elisabeth (PS I am certain you already know most of these, but thought you might like it anyway)_ attached to a little book of onvu moves and rules.

Jasper nearly did not see the small parcel set aside for him, his name written neatly across the letter. Perplexed and curious almost despite himself he broke the seal on the letter and read: _Dear Jasper, I am sure you will scold me for this breech of propriety, and I am just as certain that you must know I shall not care._ He huffed before reading further. _Aside from the fact that I am writing to you (and Ria and Sayra), I fail to see what is so improper about giving friends tokens of appreciation, and you will not change my mind. So please, take this parcel with my gratitude. Your assistance has been invaluable these last weeks, and I know I could not have come this far without it. Thank you, truly. -Elisabeth._ Attached to the letter was a little brown glass bottle sealed with wax, wrapped in another sheet of parchment that was also covered in Elisabeth’s handwriting, if it was a little cramped to fit on the small piece of paper. _My handwriting is hardly better than my mother’s, but this is a tincture she makes at home (I think I’ve told you my mother researches herbal remedies). Anyway, it’s meant to help with stress. 3-5 drops in a glass of water, usually taken in the evening since valerian has sedative properties. ___He scowled at it for a moment; clearly Elisabeth had given up on subtlety, but he slipped both the letters and the bottle into a pocket anyway. With a faint smile and shake of his head, he retreated.


	5. Growth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Passing the second Matchmaker interview seemed like a good moment to explore for this prompt, especially since Elisabeth is incredibly unprepared at the beginning.  
> (Alternate chapter title: Cue Pining or Enter Feels Stage Left)

"I no longer have any reservations in giving you my full approval, child,“ the Matchmaker said. Elisabeth beamed at her. "Now stop making that face at me and go tell that worrywart boy Jasper!”

Still grinning, Elisabeth stood and curtseyed. “Thank you Lady Matchmaker!”

The matchmaker made a noise and waved her away. With another curtsey, Elisabeth left the office. 

Jasper doesn’t pace. No, Elisabeth was fairly certain it would be beneath his dignity, but if he did, she was positive there would be deep grooves burned into the floor outside the Matchmaker’s offices. Regardless, she was half convinced the floor would have holes in it later simply by how intently he was staring at it when she exited that good woman’s chambers, calmly, smoothly (not a stumble in sight) _Keep calm and poised and collected. Musn’t give her a reason to change her mind now!_ Elisabeth waited until she heard the door swing shut behind her before bounding the rest of the way over to Jasper, beaming. 

Jasper smiled back at her; not one of the polite smiles he usually gave her, or even one of the smiles that he sometimes wore when he was trying not to show how amused he was (for the sake of butlery propriety she was certain). No, he gave her a genuine smile of pleasure and Elisabeth stumbled slightly, getting a funny little fluttering sensation in her stomach at the sight (it wasn’t even a smile, she surmised…he was practically grinning at her…) and the way it transformed Jasper’s face. He must smile far more than she’d ever seen because in that moment it looked so natural, she found herself thinking that whatever it took to make him smile like that all the time would be well worth the effort. And then she scolded herself for thinking that way and stood, bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet and grinning wider than before, a high color in her cheeks.

"I knew you would do well, Lady Elisabeth,“ Jasper said, still smiling. "You’ve worked very hard these last weeks. I’m proud of you.”

"Thank you Jasper!“ Elisabeth felt her cheeks grow even warmer at the praise as they walked through the halls back towards her room. Well, Jasper walked; Elisabeth was fairly certain she’d be floating soon if things kept going as well as they were. It was all she could do to not resort to outright skipping through the halls in sheer delighted relief. "I wouldn’t have made it through without your help. And if you hadn’t apparently spoken highly of me to the Matchmaker, who by the way, called you a worrywart.”

"Did she indeed?“ Jasper’s smile had dimmed somewhat, but he looked amused.

"Mm, yes. And I’m not exaggerating or paraphrasing this time either,” Elisabeth replied. Sobering slightly she added. "Truly, Jasper, thank you. And Ria and Sayra too. You’ve all been so kind and helpful, and I’m pretty sure I’d been on a ship back home right now if it weren’t for you three. I know it can’t be particularly easy to deal with me every day. I just…I want you to know that I do appreciate it, even if I don’t always act like I do.“

If she hadn’t been studiously avoiding making eye contact, suddenly feeling shy, she might have noticed the startled expression and faint blush her words caused her butler. "We’re happy to offer you our help, Lady Elisabeth, whenever you need it.”

"I know.“

There were a few moments of silence while they both composed their thoughts before Jasper said, in his usual straightforward manner, "Well, you’ve passed this interview, but there is still a lot left to do. For one thing, there is the Matchmaker’s Banquet later this week and before that the interviews for deciding on matches.”

"Oh. Right,“ Elisabeth said, feeling abruptly grounded. She took a deep breath and tried to keep her hands from shaking while she adjusted her shawl. "Those.” She sighed with a grimace.

Jasper glanced at her sharply. "Are you well, my lady?“

"Yes, I’m quite fine, thank you,” she replied, pasting a smile on. "You needn’t worry.“

Looking entirely unconvinced, Jasper said, "If you insist, but perhaps you’d like to take the rest of the morning free from studies? I can have some tea brought to you if you would like.”

"I would like that very much! I’d write to my parents letting them know I’ll be staying, but it would be rather pointless as they’d assume as much when I don’t come home soon. Perhaps I can read more of the book I found in the small library yesterday.“

"As you wish,” Jasper said, opening the door to Elisabeth’s room and stepping aside to let her in. "I’ll bring you some tea directly. Congratulations again, Lady Elisabeth,“ he added, a trace of the smile returning to his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to paraphrase a bit of what the Matchmaker says, because I couldn’t remember and without playing through it again, couldn’t find references, but i think it’s probably my favorite thing about her that she calls Jasper a worrywart.... because it’s so true, and I just had to include it!


	6. Despair Part the first

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is actually a mini fill for one of those soulmate AU prompts that the lovely firetan sent me on tumblr ^-^  
> The prompt was for a soulmate AU in which it is physically uncomfortable to be away from one's soulmate. And well....sorry Jasper!

Jasper realises it almost immediately, how the prickling in his skin seems to only ebb when she’s around. It’s an irritating sensation, but he is able to ignore it for the most part. By the end of the first week he starts to wonder if she is effected at all. He realises partway through the second week that the connection is not mutual. He notices her rubbing absently at her arms or scratching the back of neck when she’s reading or writing letters, and he tries to squash the conflicted feelings that arise from the realization. In week three he finds himself making excuses to be near her. He even stops her, to let her know she has choices, an absurd impulse really. She smiles and thanks him and walks away and he knows the slight hope was reckless and misplaced. He should not be surprised by the bitterness he feels when the Matchmaker tells him her choice, but he is. And he knows he ought to be pleased that she’s done so well, that she’s happy, and a part of him is. But the other part? The other part of him almost wishes she’d never come. Almost.


	7. Despair Part the Second

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I remembered in some comments that Aly has said bad things could happen to the LI's endgame/ in the epilogues and this happened....
> 
> This is the chapter where a character dies so skip it if you want to avoid that kind of thing!

Hadn’t her parents always told her she’d regret being so impetuous one day? Elisabeth’s mind was a blur of panicked thoughts. She didn’t think even her parents would have predicted this when they told her to think before she acted. "Oh, no! No, no, no, Hamin!“ she sobs, kneeling next to her betrothed, who was sitting against the wall, one hand ineffectually covering deep gash on his side. "I’m sorry! I’m so…! This is all my…! I’m sorry!”

He gave her a weak smile. "Now Glitter, you weren’t the one with the dagger.“

His attempt at levity makes her sob harder. "But If I hadn’t distracted you…If I’d just done what you said-”

"You wouldn’t be my Elisabeth," he says, reaching out to push a strand out of her face. He winces and fresh blood oozes from the wound.

The contact is enough to give Elisabeth some semblance of sense. "We need,” she hiccups, “We need to stop the bleeding. Until help can get here.” She wriggles out of a petticoat ad begins tearing it into strips.

"This isn’t quite how I’d imagined getting acquainted with your undergarments," Hamin murmurs, his breathing grown shallow and labored.

"Oh don’t! Don’t talk!” she cries, her hands shaking as she rolls strips into makeshift bandages and presses them against the wound. _Something to cover the wound and apply pressure to stop bleeding,_ her mind informs her and she methodically complies. Hamin winces as she presses the cloth firmly. Her litany of apologies becomes verbal and she finds she can’t stop crying and she can’t stop apologizing and she thinks the whining in her ears might be coming from her.

"Elisabeth," Hamin’s voice is so soft, too soft. "Elisabeth.”

"Wh-what,“ she stammers, looking into his eyes anxiously.

It takes him a moment before he is able to speak. "I love you,” he whispers.

"I love you too,“ she replies, kissing him softly. "I love you too.” Tears stream down her cheeks and he touches her cheek to wipe them away. His fingers are cold against her skin. Too cold.

Elisabeth is efficient with the bandages, but it is not enough.

She wakes up in her chamber the next morning with no memory of how she got there, and for one bright shining moment she thinks she must have dreamt it all. One look at Ria’s concerned face destroys the thought and her world crashes around her all over again. When she’s not shut in her room, Elisabeth takes to wandering listlessly around the castle. Why should it matter what happens now? She thinks briefly of Lady Estelle’s composure, but she is not a lady of Arland and she has never been good at hiding her emotions.

They find her sitting in the gazebo or on the roof or lurking near the forbidden wing. She always comes quietly when they try to coax her back to her room. Ludicrously she finds herself wondering if the forbidden wing is really haunted and wonders if ghosts exist. And if they do, has a new one joined their midst? Her friends would say the only ghost there is her.

She writes a letter to her parents telling them to expect her to come home after all. She does not elaborate; they’ll know soon enough. She finally understands what Hamin was trying to explain to her after the incident with the balcony, and she would give anything in the world not to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea when this would take place, but let's just say angst week? And I'm not sure why but my brain decided present tense was a good idea for this, so it's probably pretty awkward in parts!


	8. Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there is blatant innuendo and horridly ruffled nightgowns

"Let’s get married!“ Hamin said, turning to Elisabeth with an excited grin.

She tilted her head in confusion. "I already agreed to marry you, you silly man. That is why I am here on _your_ ship and not one bound for Jiyel. Or have you forgotten?” Elisabeth replied, wobbling unsteadily as the ship rocked with the waves.

Hamin wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her and replied, “How could I forget? You injure me Glitter! I meant now!”

"Now? But how on earth would that work? There are no officials, no paperwork…"

"Ship captains can perform marriages you know,” he replied with a saucy wink.

Elisabeth laughed. "I don’t think that counts if the captain is the one getting married," she said, tapping him on the nose.

"That wasn’t a no…?”

She giggled, “It was not.”

Grinning wider than ever, Hamin yelled, “Oy! Leala!”

The first mate Hamin had introduced to Elisabeth almost as soon as they’d gotten on board ambled over. "D'you need something?" she grinned at the both of them while Elisabeth tried again to count just how many feathers were in her hair. 

"How do you feel about playing captain for the next day or so?” Hamin asked.

"Why the next day? A wedding ceremony on a ship can hardly take more than half an hour," Elisabeth asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Because I predict that you and I will be otherwise preoccupied,” Hamin replied, giving Elisabeth a suggestive smile.

"What do you…Oh!" Elisabeth turned bright red and scowled at him.

He laughed, "What’s with that expression, love?”

"You- you!! Keep this up, prince pirate and I shall wear my most horrible, frilly, ruffle bedecked, high collared night gown!" she narrowed her eyes at him and added as an afterthought, "With the scratchiest lace I can find.” Not that Elisabeth actually owned any such nightgown, preferring not to be suffocated by yards of fabric in her sleep, but he didn’t know that…yet. She briefly supposed that the contents of her trunks could hardly remain a mystery for long. 

"Oh? As opposed to what?" he asked, looking genuinely interested. Leala, standing nearby and rather forgotten snorted with laughter.

"Wouldn’t you like to know,” Elisabeth hissed, crossing her arms and looking up at him defiantly, oblivious to the audience they had attracted.

"Ah well, no matter. I’m sure you’ll look just as lovely covered in ruffles as not, and besides, I might like ruffles and scratchy lace, “ he replied infuriatingly, nuzzling her neck. Elisabeth gaped at him. With a slight screech or irritation, she seized the front of his jacket, and yanking him towards her, kissed him with rather more force than finesse. Though briefly startled, Hamin responded enthusiastically. When, amidst some raucous cheers and whistles they parted, Elisabeth still glowering slightly, he asked, "What was that for?”

"You were talking overmuch!“ Elisabeth snapped, her cheeks still burning and her heart racing.

"Ah, I’ve embarrassed you! Forgive me, I didn’t mean to!” Hamin said, pulling her back into a hug. "I am sorry, Elisabeth.“

Elisabeth snuggled into his embrace. "I’m just…just not used to this,” she murmured, her voice somewhat muffled by the cloth of his jacket.

He ran a hand through her hair, “We can take as much time as you need to be comfortable with all of this. I can arrange for a separate cabin for you if you want, and–”

Elisabeth pulled back and swatted him. "Are you trying to get out of this _now_?!“

Hamin looked startled. "What? But…Are you saying you still want to get married? Now? Here?”

"Well I haven’t tried to push you overboard yet, now have I?“ Elisabeth replied with a smirk, having finally gained some footing in the conversation.

Leala laughed, "Oh she’s feisty! I see why you like her!” She looked at the both of them. "Well, am I playing captain now or not?"

Hamin and Elisabeth looked at each other, grinned and then nodded at her.

"Then let’s get on with it!”

Hamin leaned down to whisper to Elisabeth, “So does this mean you’re not going to punish me by wearing that horrid sounding nightgown?”

With a wicked laugh, Elisabeth replied merrily, “I make no promises, prince pirate.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I started this thinking of the idea that ship’s captains can perform marriages, and then decided to look it up online, and APPARENTLY, that’s actually a myth! But no one really knows where/ when/ how that idea became so ingrained in society as a fact. In the US, it was such a commonly held belief that in the early 1900′s they had to make a specific description of the duties and responsibilities of naval officers, specifically stating that they could NOT perform marriage ceremonies. There are some variants, some cruise lines offer it, and in some places captains can obtain temporary licenses to perform ceremonies, but they have to return them afterwords. It’s very likely due to the fact that sea voyages used to take so very long and the captain was the only authority figure on board, so it sort of just made sense that they would perform ceremonies, that we have this kind of idea.
> 
> I also REALLY wanted to work the line methinks the lady doth protest too much in because 1) I am a Shakespeare nerd and 2) Elisabeth doesn't really mind Hamin's obvious innuendo flirting persay, she's just far more used to the idea of PDA/ public discussions of sex being something society as a whole thinks of as something inappropriate or scandalous. Sadly, I couldn't think of a good way to work it in


End file.
